Wessex Mayor process left Council Leader 'frustrated' and 'miserable'
Richard Clewer says he still has reservations over their introduction
The leader of Wiltshire Council has told Greatest Hits Radio that the process of submitting a proposal for a Mayor of Wessex has been 'frustrating' and has 'made life miserable'.
It's part of a devolution project to bring more powers to local areas.
Wiltshire has submitted the proposal alongside Dorset and Somerset Council's, with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council voting in favour of joining the group earlier this week.
Swindon Borough Council discussed their inclusion last night (16/1).
Cllr Richard Clewer said there's still reservations over whether a mayor is the right thing for large rural areas, saying the submission was made 'reluctantly' to Government.
He told us the current Government is 'obsessed' with mayors and that they're coming whether we like it or not.
"The white paper makes absolutely clear that everywhere we'll end up in a Strategic Mayoral Authority and if you don't pick your footprint, it'll be picked for you," Cllr Clewer said.
Despite the reservations, the Council Leader says he's determined to maximise the benefits of having a Mayor.
He said: "We're all large rural areas with market towns the same sort of economy, the same sort of challenges for delivery of things like housing and social care, so there's some really good synergy, I think, between the issues that that all three councils are facing."
Cllr Clewer continued: "The work that's been going on between Somerset and Dorset and Wiltshire behind the scenes has been really good and we've forged some really strong links there, despite having different political parties in control.
"I think that work puts us in a good stead to make sure that going forward we can we can drive this in a way that is going to be of benefit to the one and a half million people that live in those three Council areas, which is has got to be the main aim of from our point of view of this process."
But Cllr Clewer admitted that the process has been stressful.
He said: "This has been a very frustrating process as leader of Council, it honestly it's made life miserable.
"We've been getting government reports with a requirement to respond in two weeks to do whatever it is that they fill in whatever form they want, or give whatever criteria they want, but the democratic process doesn't work that quickly."
With proposal now with the Government, Cllr Clewer and his Dorset and Somerset counterparts are awaiting No. 10's next move.